London-based artist Chang Wang inhabits a generous and humbling art practice. Impelled to defy the social pattern of ignorance when facing contentions in the world, Chang’s practice is a persisting flow against oblivion. Through performance and installation, she summons experiences of compassion to point at margins of reality bound to be overlooked. Such pursuits stem from Chang’s genuine and hearted curiosity towards human suffering.

Realizing synchronicities 

After studying graphic design in University of the Arts London, Chang recollects her artistic drive as a gradual realization. Perhaps still ongoing, she affirms. Born in the mountainous outskirts of Beijing, she recognizes the difficulties in accessing knowledge from a naturally pristine and isolated cradle. 

“Getting information as a child was so challenging. There were no shops around. We had to plan a trip to the bottom of the mountain to arrive at the bookstore. That’s made me very appreciative of the access to information now. This is real freedom”. 

“When I was in primary school in China, the first book I ever bought was a retrospective of her work. I just liked the cover. I thought it was a novel. Then, when I unsealed it, tens of nude postcards of Marina and Ulay fell on my floor. I blushed and didn’t know what to do. Subconsciously, I know she’s impacted me a lot. And she is Serbian. It’s all weirdly connected”.

Chang’s summoned empathy

For Chang, art isn’t a conclusive or a one-ended statement. It is an organic and suggestive attempt to present “what’s going on” through a sensitive gaze. Coupled with her purpose to present objective facts and inform the viewer, Chang’s process is devoted to Roland Barthes’ authorless approach to creation. By detaching herself from her authorship, Chang embeds elements of collaborative and participatory creativity in her performances, granting power to the viewers. 

Compelled to address topics at a liminal state of being forgotten, Chang’s primal intention is to construct sympathy from a shared physical space. Acknowledging that “certain situations are prioritized when we care about people going through them”, she beckons a common compassion to challenge human passivity.

“You have to converse eye to eye to build true sympathy towards a person. It takes a lot of effort to empathize and connect with the idea of another”.

In conversation with her introspective quest, the topics she alludes to in her practice reveal themselves. Along with dedicated research, Chang discloses that the presence of a universal theme emerges from a space of self-reflection. Oftentimes, Chang’s exploration of reality conceales elements of her own pain. Hence, by evidencing the cosmic ties between what’s personal and what’s undeniably shared, she taps into ubiquitous forms of love. On that basis, Chang conceives her time at PILOTENKUECHE as a chance to submerge deeper into her purpose.